


Shot Me Down

by dinglesugdendinglesugden



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Angst, Blood, Guns, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 13:10:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14569722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinglesugdendinglesugden/pseuds/dinglesugdendinglesugden
Summary: Robert wakes up in the middle of the night to a shock, but what has happened?





	Shot Me Down

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while, but I've finally written something new.  
> This was prompted to me by two anons:  
> I have an idea. Robert rolling over in the middle of the night to snuggle Aaron when he realises he's cold, he looks down and he's been shot. It gives him flashbacks of when he was also shot. He must figure out who did it to his Aaron. Could you write it?
> 
> Can you write about either rob or Aaron being attacked by lachlan? X
> 
> Tumblr: @prettyboysugden

For some reason, Robert had started to fidget in his sleep. Aaron always complained about it when it happened, but let Robert settle down again, even if it was just for a couple of hours before he inevitably moved again.

Normally, Aaron was a human radiator, exuding heat all day long and Robert, although he loved him, could never cuddle him all through the night, but when Robert started fidgeting at night, the only way he would settle down would be if he was holding on to Aaron, like he was terrified to lose him.

 But this night was different.

Because when he put his arm over Aaron’s body to pull the two of them closer in the darkness, Aaron was cold to the touch, like he’d been out in snowy weather all day. Robert recoiled his hand in shock, brain whirring around suddenly, and then his eyes adapted to the blackness and he saw his hand covered in a liquid.

Blood.

_Aaron’s blood._

He quickly moved to turn the bedroom light on, and he wished he hadn’t, because the sight was too much. Aaron’s shirt was soaked in claret, his body an unhealthy shade of grey and the natural redness of cheeks long gone. Within seconds, he was picking his phone up and trying to soothe Aaron, reassuring him that he’d be alright, not even certain that he was still alive.

“Help! My-my husband, he’s bleeding an-and he’s cold!” He screamed down the phone, cheeks soaked in tears and his voice shaky.

“No I don’t know if he’s alive, I can’t feel a pulse! Please, just help!” He gasped out. “I can’t lose him.”

 

The sirens and flashing lights of the hospital made him realise that this was real. This was actually happening. All he could hear was voices he didn’t recognise, speaking about Aaron. _His_ Aaron. _Shot_. _Pulse weak_. _Blood transfusions._

“Mr Sugden?” A voice called out. “Your husband is in safe hands now. Would you like to follow me into the family room? We can get you a change of clothes.”

He looked down without speaking, seeing his hands and pyjamas covered in Aaron’s blood, like he’d just walked into a murder scene. His head went straight back to a couple of years ago, when he’d woken up from a coma and had his little sister tell him that he’d been shot.

Robert looked up again at this nurse and nodded his head, looking back at the door Aaron had been rushed through.  

“We’ll be able to tell you more when the doctors come out, but for now we’ll get you out of these clothes and get you a brew. The police are here to talk to you, so they can find who did this, but you don’t have to speak to them right away.”

Robert just nodded again, trying to rub Aaron’s blood off his hands and onto his shirt. “Wi-will this need to be used as evidence?” He asked, trying to not set his tears off again.

The woman nodded, giving Robert a friendly smile. “I should think so. Only for DNA I imagine, because whoever did this to Aaron may have left a trace on you.”

 

_BANG. The gun had gone off and the next thing he knows was his body on the cold ground, staring up at the sky and watching everything fade out of focus. They’d told him it was Aaron, that they’d found him hiding the gun and now he was in prison. He knew it wasn’t Aaron. It couldn’t have been, because no matter what Robert had said to him, Aaron loved him._

 

“Mr Sugden.” There was a knock at the door and the police walked in. “Are you okay to take a statement whilst we wait for your husband?” They asked.

Robert nodded and looked at the doctor they’d walked in with. “How is he?”

“No news I’m afraid, but in some shooting cases, this is completely normal and nothing to worry about.”

Robert just smiled – as much as he could, under the circumstances.

The police sat down opposite Robert, one of them taking out a notepad and pen, ready to write down information.

“I-I was sleeping and I heard a noise, I didn’t know what it was but some nights we do hear people walking around outside, so I didn’t think anything of it.” Robert spoke, eyes shutting momentarily, his mind going back to last night and hearing the footsteps. “Please just find out who did this.”

“Trust me, we’re working tirelessly on this, and between us: we have a lead.” The senior officer spoke. “We’ve discovered gunshot residue on the inside handle of your bedroom door, which the perpetrator left behind when leaving, and there’s also a slight footprint in the mud outside.

 

 

Thirteen hours after Aaron had been rushed into hospital, the doctors came out and spoke to Robert, telling him that it had been touch and go, but they managed to successfully get the bullet out and had stemmed the bleeding, and if he wanted to, Robert could go and see him.

“Never scare me like that again, okay?” Robert muttered, his lips against Aaron’s hand, not willing to let go of him now. Too scared to let go in case that was the last time he’d get to touch him, hold him. “We’ll find out who did this, I promise you. I won’t rest until they’re rotting in prison.”

 

It took another two days and many family visits before Aaron came out of his coma, struggling to breathe at first. The doctors explained that it was normal because his chest had suffered a lot of pressure, but it should ease off sooner rather than later.

“What happened?” Aaron asked his husband, who was stood by his side, fingers intertwined and a look of relief on his face.

“You got shot, in the middle of the night.” Robert told him, watching Aaron’s face twist and turn.

He breathed out a “What?”, almost like he was in disbelief.

Robert just nodded, confirming what he’d said. “The police- they arrested someone yesterday. Found a gun in his bag and the bullet matches it. Aaron, it was Lachlan.”

Aaron’s eyebrows furrowed and his head hurt. “Lachlan White?”

“Yeah.” Robert confirmed. “They said he confessed to shooting you, and-”

Robert stopped speaking, not being able to get the rest out.

“And what?” Aaron asked, pushing for an explanation.

“He caused the crash.” Robert looked into Aaron’s eyes and saw confusion and heartbreak. “He killed Chrissie and Lawrence.”

 

Eight weeks later and Aaron was able to stand up in court and hear as the jury called out ‘guilty’ four times over _._

_Possession of a firearm. Attempted murder. Manslaughter. Manslaughter._

He’d have to serve a minimum of 25 years in prison, and wouldn’t be able to appeal.

“He’s gone. You never have to see him again.” Is all Aaron heard for the rest of the day.

But just like Robert, every time he closed his eyes, he went back to that moment. Defenceless. _BANG._


End file.
